In a surprisingly rapid twist of events, both Mr Tajdin and Mr Jiwa have filed their respective statements of Defense this 29th of April 2010. They affirm to being devoted followers who will unconditionally abide by the wishes of the Aga Khan, whom they glorify in their defense.

Mr Tajdin declares that:

He has not been served yet but the ethics imposed upon him by his faith demands that he should not keep in ignorance the public by being silent on the issue and should clarify all of the facts, pertaining to this lawsuit, of which he is aware.

He reaffirms his allegiance to the Aga Khan, is willing to submit to any of his wishes, and is ready to surrender himself and all his possessions to the Imam.

He has been printing Farman books since 1992 with approval and instructions from the Imam received on August 15, 1992 in Montreal.

He has not received any communication from the Imam from 1992 to 2009 instructing him to stop publication.

He cannot stop publication without instruction from the Imam as this would be a breach of his oath of allegiance to the Imam.

All Farman publications were financial deficit projects done as a volunteer service and large numbers of books were distributed free of charge.

Farman sharing is a historic Ismaili tradition which still continues today.

The current Ismaili Constitution does not restrict the right to publish Farmans

Mr Tajdin concludes that:

He has no choice but to await further direct instructions from the Imam.

He reaffirms his allegiance to the Aga Khan, is willing to submit to any of His wishes, and is ready to surrender himself and all his possessions to the Imam.

Mr Jiwa states that:

"This action does not appear to have been authorized personally by the Aga Khan .."

"In distributing Farman books obtained from Tajdin to other Ismailis, he has not violated either the Ismaili Constitution or any Farmans"

He has not violated the copyright act as "Tajdin was given express authority by the Imam" and regardless of the fact that "the limitations period provided for by the Copyright Act also bars this action as the books containing the Farmans were commenced publication in the year 1992", he will still do whatever the Imam tells him to do.

Mr Jiwa clarifies finances:

He "obtains these books for C$50.00 and sells them for C$50.00 or gives them free, without any profit.

"All monies received by him from the sale of (other) books after 2005 were delivered to the Jamatkhanas"

Mr Jiwa further states that:

"If the Imam edited the Farman before releasing to the Jamats, in effect he is superceding the Farman he made orally previously."

He "unconditionally reconfirms his oath of allegiance to his Imam" and "if the Imam does not desire his Farman books to be distributed to the Jamats (...) this defendant will submit to the instructions of His Imam without reservation whatsoever"

Replies From the Plaintiff are due within 10 days, and Affidavits of Documents are due 30 days later.

[Update from May 6: Ogilvy Renault, the law firm which launched the case has asked for an extension of 15 days to reply to the Defense. They claim delays due to breakdown of email servers, blackberry communication, travel of senior lawyer, time difference with Paris etc...The more delays in this file, the more damage it creates to the reputation of the Ismaili community, the Imam and the defendants. It is to the advantage of all parties that this case be withdrawn from the courts.]

The Chairman of LIF and some Presidents are gong around sayng they are very busy helping the Ismaili poor. Well Mr Azim Lakhani, and Mr Sachedina, which Ismaili poor are our Insitutions helping from the GJ Fund, and how many more Ismalies have you helped in for example India the last 5 years as a part of the GJ initiatives and Funds. How much has been spent in the last 5 years ? (since 11 July 2007) ?

You are sttting on milllions for this very purpose ? You have been giving the excuse that you are doing a detailed survey ? Well in the last 20 years you have been saying just that. All you need to do is go to the area and you will see the Ismailies and they will tell you what they need as they have been for 20 years.

In Mumbai itself as you know, you give ration cards to some Ismailies who cannot afford to buy food. This is in Mumbai. They are ultra poor, do not speak english, do not get Farmans, and do not know what to do. Some have to sell the ration card fopr a discount because they cannot go to collect centrally or they need to buy some other items which they need more.

How can we expect them to speak up ? Mr LIF and DJI Chairman, you know this is true. So does the Leadership in India. |What are you putting in your end of term report, and what will you say to Hazar Imam when you meet him regarding this and the new appointments ?

Those of us who are fortunate untill now have been thinking that the money we give , and which goes into our institutions is all controlled by Hazar Imam, and goes first to help Ismailies and all projects help Ismailies. WE now know this is controlled by SS and Co institutionally. We did not know any different.

With the Internet, and forums like this, all Ismailies know. If we sit back and allow this to continue and we do not share or speak up, then we are allowing 20% of Ismailies in India to continue to suffer materially and spiritually.We are allowing these few Leaders even though Imam is asking us to use our intellect and hold them to account and anwer insitutionally.

Mr Mansooorali can let us know iwhat is the situaltion of the very poor Ismailies in Gujerat etc today.

So Ismailies up and down need to wake up and speak up. Share information, Farmans and reports with your brothers and sisters freely and happily. Ismailies are starving materially and spiritually !